Franklin and the trio of players participated in a wide range of activities with
local and national media throughout the day.
Stay tuned for continuing coverage of Penn State's trip to the 2014 Big
Ten Media Days.

9 a.m. - Hackenberg Tabbed as Player to
WatchThe first piece of Penn State news from Big Ten Media Days broke just
before 9 a.m. on Monday when the conference announced that sophomore Christian
Hackenberg was named one of 10 Big Ten Players to Watch heading into the 2014
season.

Hackenberg was selected the 2013 Thompson-Randle El Big Ten
Freshman-of-the-Year, becoming the second-straight Nittany Lion to win the
award, with defensive end Deion Barnes doing so in 2012. His tremendous true
freshman season was recognized nationally, as he garnered first-team True
Freshman All-America accolades from 247Sports.com. He completed 231 of 392
passes for 2,955 yards, with 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.
Hackenberg also ran for four touchdowns and accumulated 2,887 yards of total
offense, an average of 240.6 ypg.The Virginia native
broke one Penn State overall passing record and 12 school freshman passing
records, including the freshman marks for game and season passing completions,
attempts, yards and touchdown passes. He compiled four 300-yard passing games
to tie Matt McGloin for the school single season record and tie Kerry Collins
for second place on the career list, just two behind McGloin's career mark of
six. Hackenberg completed 14 passes of 40 yards or longer, which was tied for
the most nationally by a freshman and eighth overall, including a season-long
68-yard touchdown pass to Adam Breneman in the season finale win at No. 14
Wisconsin.2014 Big Ten Players to WatchEAST DIVISIONStefon Diggs, WR,
MarylandDevin Funchess, WR,
MichiganShilique Calhoun, DE,
Michigan StateBraxton Miller, QB,
Ohio StateChristian Hackenberg,
QB, Penn StateWEST DIVISIONBrandon Scherff, OL,
IowaAmeer Abdullah, RB,
NebraskaRandy Gregory, DE,
NebraskaMelvin Gordon, RB,
WisconsinRob Havenstein, RT,
Wisconsin10:05 a.m. - One-on-One Interviews Kick
Off Media DaysHead coach James Franklin kicked off the festivities with a one-on-one
interview with the ESPN.com Big Ten reporters.

12 p.m. - Quoting the Nittany LionsA collection of
quotes during the open media session at Big Ten Media Day:

Coach Franklin on the logistics of playing in Ireland - "We think we've got a
pretty good plan going into it. We're going to need to be very disciplined.
We'll leave Tuesday night. Go to class on Tuesday, practice on Tuesday and leave
Tuesday night, and we'll get there on Wednesday. We're going to have to force
them to stay up that entire day and try to get adjusted and acclimated as quick
as we possibly can, but no doubt it's a challenge."Coach Franklin on Christian Hackenberg - "The thing that I'm most
impressed is how humble and how hungry and how open he is to coaching. I think
Billy O'Brien and our staff did a really good job of teaching concepts. That's
kind of what we believe is you teach the game from a big picture perspective.
They understand concepts. They've got a chance to put things together in their
head and understand offenses. So now we come in, there's a lot of similar
philosophies, but he understands concepts of football. But I've been very
impressed with him."Mike Hull on Coach Franklin - "We feed off of his energy. I wouldn't want
another head coach with different energy."Sam Ficken on the offseason - "My big thing during the offseason was
consistency. I feel great coming into camp."Bill Belton on being a complete back - "The big thing about being a complete
back is doing all of the little things well and executing all phases of the
game."

2 p.m. - Coach Franklin Addresses the
MediaHead coach James Franklin stepped to the podium inside the Grand Ballroom of
the Hilton at 2 p.m. ET for his 15-minute session with the approximately 800 credentialed
media in attendance at Big Ten Kickoff.

"Really appreciate
the opportunity to be here," said Franklin. "I want to thank the Big Ten. I
want to thank Commissioner Delany. Great experience for our players. They're
really, really excited. Got a chance to spend some time in Chicago, and now
having this experience has been wonderful. So I want to thank everybody for
that."

The first-year leader of the Nittany Lions is pleased with the progress Penn
State made during spring practice. Franklin said the spring was spent laying
the foundation for what the program is trying to accomplish with mentality and
culture and offensive, defensive and special teams philosophies. Franklin said
the team embraced the opportunity to learn, and he is excited for practice to
begin on Aug. 4.

"This spring we weren't able to really play at the type of speed that we want
to play at because guys were thinking, and I think since then, over the summer,
we've been able to really kind of gain some confidence, and guys are looking
forward to it," said Franklin.

2:30 p.m. - Open Media SessionFranklin and the trio of players moved into a podium media session for 30
minutes at 2:30 p.m. The trio of players and Franklin found a spare minute to
snap a selfie to document the open session.

VIDEO: Coach Franklin on Day One of Big
Ten Media Days

VIDEO: Player Sound Bites on Day One of Big Ten Media Days

6 p.m. - Day One RoundupThe Nittany Lion contingent wrapped up a day
full of interviews with TV affiliates, radio stations, online reporters and
print reporters in the late afternoon hours in Chicago. Day two of Big Ten Media Days will feature
two hours of open media on Thursday morning.
Coach Franklin and former Nittany Lion great Anthony Adams will then
participate in a Big Ten autograph session with the fans. From there, the 43rd Annual Big Ten Kickoff
will take place in the International Ballroom of the Hilton. Stay tuned for more coverage from Tuesday's
events.